The Right Way To Trim Hydrangeas?

To achieve the best blooms, it is essential to prune your hydrangea brushes at a 45-degree angle during mid-summer months. Remove old blooms just under the heads at the tip of the stem and dead or crossed canes to increase airflow and promote new growth. Identifying the type of hydrangea you have is the most important step in pruning. Most shrub-form hydrangeas sold in North America are hydrangeas.

Climbing hydrangeas (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris) require cutting back any over-long shoots immediately after flowering. Most flowers are conical-shaped, providing winter interest in your landscape. Wait to prune these until late winter or spring. Trim in early spring, before the flowers begin to bud, or after the plant has finished flowering.

The best advice for hydrangeas is to consider their mature size and locate them in an area they won’t outgrow and require heavy pruning to keep them in bounds. Most pruning is carried out in late winter or early spring, but climbing hydrangeas are pruned after flowering in summer. Cut back in early spring, pruning last year’s growth back to a healthy framework that’s between 30cm and 60cm high.

When pruning, make your cut just above a set of large, healthy leaves. If a branch is broken or dead, it can be removed completely. If in doubt, don’t prune! Prune about a third of the stems a little harder down the stem to get good foliage and prune the rest for big flowers in summer. Dead head the hydrangeas by snipping off the dried flower head to the first pair of fat buds below it.